[Objective] Collapsing gully, one of the most serious soil erosion problems in the tropical and subtropical areas of South China, occurs mainly in the hilly red soil regions as triggered off by the interaction of runoff and gravity. A collapsing gully generally consists of five parts:an upper catchment, a collapsing wall, a colluvial deposit, a scour channel, and an alluvial fan. Stability of a collapsing gully wall determines the scale of the collapsing gully and the volume of the colluvial deposit. Rainfall and temperature not only determine weathering rate of soils, but also affect the mechanical state of granite red soils. Liquid and plastic limits are the most commonly tested mechanical indices. However, few studies have been reported about investigation of the effects of temperature on soil Atterberg limits in collapsing gullies.[Method] In this study, soil samples were collected from the three soil layers in a soil profile, i.e. red soil layer, sandy soil layer and detritus layer, of a typical collapsing gully located in Anxi County, Fujian Province. The soil profile was subdivided into three soil layers in the light of their colors and structures. Four levels of temperature (15, 25, 40 and 60℃) were set to investigate their effects on soil liquid and plastic limits and soil bound water content.[Result] The red soil layer was found to be the highest in soil liquid limit, plastic limit and plastic index and followed by the sandy soil layer and the detritus layer. Liquid and plastic limits positively and linearly related to contents of fine clay, organic matter and iron oxide. When temperature rose from 15℃ to 40℃, soil liquid and plastic limits in the three soil layers all decreased, as well as the soil bound water content. When temperature rose from 40℃ to 60℃, soil plastic limit increased in the red soil layer and the detritus layer, and soil liquid limit increased in the red soil layer and sandy soil layer. The effect of temperature on soil bound water content was consistent with the changes in soil liquid and plastic limits.[Conclusion] The soil liquid limit of the detritus layer is approximate to its saturated water content, and decreases gradually with the rising soil temperature. In the case of high temperature and heavy rain in summer in this region, flow deformation is the most likely to occur in the detritus layer, which might be one of the main reasons causing the collapse of a collapsing gully wall.